"Why are we doing this again?" I asked Tommy as we clambered out of his car. We were at some country house in the countryside. 

"This is Polly's son. She needs to see him, they need to be reunited." Tommy answered and I smiled at him. 

"This is really sweet of you." I replied grinning like a Cheshire cat as we could see two boys playing further ahead. One about seventeen and the other about eleven or twelve.  They were running over the fence and into one of the houses. I could only guess that the elder one was her son. 

We finally reached the white picket fence, I stood there trying to look all business with my long brown curly hair pinned back, my navy dress and white cardigan. The women looked very intimidating as well. 

"Mrs Johnson?" I asked her with a radiating smile. I tried to look welcoming so she would have no problem speaking to me. 

"Yes. Who are you two?" She asked us and Tommy, luckily, spoke up will I thought of a cover for myself. 

"I'm from Birmingham Council, Bordesley parish." Tommy answered and I nodded my head.

"My name is Jane Baxter, I work with the council. I specify in the adoption side of it all." I answered as I held out my hand and she shook it. She could probably feel my nervous, sweaty palms. 

"No-one wrote to me. What d'you want?" She asked us in a rather confrontational tone. 

"I would like to talk about your son, about Henry." Tommy answered and she looked pretty shocked. She was a mother who did not want to let go of their child, it always confused as parents could kick their children to the curb. Like my parents. Or my birth parents. I could never do that to Roma. 

"Can we come in?" I asked her politely and Mrs Johnson looked bombardment and to be fair we were doing exactly that. 

"I'd rather you didn't, he doesn't like to talk about this." Mrs Johnson answered and I nodded my head.

"I see. So what does Henry know about his real identity, Mrs Johnson?" I asked her, prying quite a bit. 

"I only deal with Mr Ross from the agency and he only ever writes, so why are you here in person?" She asked curious and I could see that she was getting more and more angrier by the second. 

"Well, the boy is approaching his 18th birthday." Tommy stated and the women shook her head. 

"This isn't right! You're not from the council, something isn't right." She exclaimed and Tommy was getting more and more into this. 

"Hmm. What does he know, Mrs Johnson?" Tommy asked intrigued as to what lies she was telling Michael. 

"He knows his mother couldn't cope. She drank too much, she used opium, she used to beat him." Mrs Johnson listed but that was just not Polly. I could never believe that Polly would harm her on children. 

"But that isn't the truth, is it?" I asked her in a challenging tone. I was not going to stand her and let some women drag Polly through the mud. She deserved a lot better than that. 

"Look, I think you should come back when my husband's here." Mrs Johnson explained trying to push us off but if Tommy wasn't budging than neither was I. This was his cousin, this was his family and I was going to help him. 

"Does he know what his real name is?" Tommy asked her. 

"His real name is Johnson, Henry Johnson, now I would like you to go away and come back when my husband's here." She explained sternly, like her husband was going to scare Tommy or I. We were untouchable and unbreakable. 

"The truth is he was taken from his mother without her permission." I stated angrily and that was true. Henry\Michael edged his way closer to us. 

"Henry, go back inside, please." Mrs Johnson begged because she was getting really worried, she did not want to lose her son. He obviously meant the world to her. 

"Who are you?" Henry\Michael asked us in a stern tone. His mother was begging him to go inside.  

"Your real name is Michael Gray." Tommy stated as his mother cried out for him to stop. For Tommy to stop because she did not want to lose her son. "Your real mother wants to see you. Her address is on the back of this card. She just wants to talk." Tommy explained calm and his mother still beckoned out for it all to stop. 

"She just wants to talk." I added it in a sweet and innocent tone. Trying to calm down the situation. 

"Go away and leave us alone. Go away!" Mrs Johnson cried out before she took Henry\Michael away. "Come on, let's go back inside. Come on, I'll get you something to eat. Come on, Henry. Come on Come on." She explained trying to calm herself down.

Tommy and I waited before we started to walk down the path back to the car. That was very emotional and draining. I felt horrible doing what I was doing but Polly needed this. 

"Now we just sit and wait. The boy will come around." I stated filling the empty void of silence. 

"How do you know?" Tommy asked me, not having the same confidence as me.

"He's a Shelby. He will be feeling alone in the family because he has a dark side. You all do. He will need someone to confide in about it all, he will want to know his birth parents." I explained because it was true. I knew what it was like to be him, I knew what the Shelby's were like. 

"Will you help him?" Tommy asked me and I playfully nudged his side as we finally reached the car. 

"I feel like I am an expert in that field." I grinned at him as he opened the car door for me. Once we were all ready he started to drive, I could feel Tommy's eyes lingering towards me and I did not know why. 

"What are you going to do about your birth mother?" Tommy asked me, obviously it was trapped in his mind. 

"I honestly don't know. Maybe I do not need her because I have Roma. She is all I need in my life." I answered honestly and I meant every word. 

"Yes, you are right." Tommy replied before I looked out of the window, thinking about something different. Or at least trying to. 

___

"Polly, these are the files for Michael and Anna Gray. As you can see, one is white and one is black." I explained as I handed her the files in her office. We had news to tell her about her children and I did not know how she was going to take it. 

"What you saw in your dreams was right. Your daughter is dead." Tommy admitted and I knew that must have been heard for her. 

"Um. You do it, I can't read it." Polly stuttered in shock, she had just found out her daughter was dead. That would crush any mother, trust me. 

"After Anna was taken from you, she was put with a family of a railway station master in Stafford. She never settled. So she kept running away. She got on a train to Birmingham once. Eventually they sent her to Australia where she died of something called spring fever." Tommy explained and it was a tragic story really. Anna wanted to know her mum but she could not. 

"So my little Anna travelled all the way back across the world to be with me in my dreams?" Polly asked and Tommy sighed. 

"She came all by herself. Well that's one train they couldn't get her off." Tommy answered but I had good news for her. 

"But, Pol. Michael is alive. He's in England and I know where he lives, we went there." I explained and Polly looked intrigued. 

"And?" She asked in a stern tone, she was a mother wanting to know about her son, I totally got where she was coming from. 

"OK, Polly, listen to me. Just listen to me, please." Tommy said very tranquil, he was trying to calm down Polly. 

"Pol! The woman that he calls "mother" will never let him come here." I explained to her but Polly was not listening to me only her nephew. 

"Just tell me where he is, Tommy." Polly demanded, she was a mother willing to do anything. The scariest types of people because they will got to any lengths or costs to help that baby. 

"Polly, if you go there and you get mad and she gets mad and she calls the police, they will never let you anywhere near him and the boy will get scared. That's what will happen, Pol. Polly." Tommy explained and deep down Polly knew it was true. She had to know. 

"Polly." I gasped as she held up a gun to his head. I was in shock, she was willing to kill her won family on the hope her other one will become family again. 

"You just tell me where he is, Thomas.  Tell me where he is, Thomas!" Polly barked as she held the gun up to him. I decided to stand in front of Tommy, if Polly was to shot the gun I would be dead. 

"Polly. Pulling the gun. Pulling the gun is why we can't tell you." I stated to her calm and almost in a childlike tone so she would truly grasp what was being said. 

"Pol, I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait till he's eighteen. Till he's old enough to make his own decision." Tommy explained, obviously he felt terrible about it. I placed my hand on his shoulder sympathetically, I wanted to comfort him. 

___

"Clara! I didn't know you were coming." Polly exclaimed as she walked up to Roma and I. I had just walked into the Garrison, the new Garrison, after it was blown up. It was very rich and grand, I think Tommy was trying to get use to a rich lifestyle. 

Esme walked over to me and smiled at me and Roma as Polly walked off because she saw Tommy coming our way.

"I am sorry about your mother." Esme admitted as she took Roma from me. I guess word travels fast at the caravan site.

"It's okay. I guess I expected it." I replied to her with a pure smile of radiance to show it did not bother me. I was going to try again but I was going to wait a while. 

"I am here for you." Esme smiled at me kindly before she walked off with Roma over to John and the boys. 

"Hello, Clara." Tommy smiled at me as he passed me whiskey. He knew I loved whiskey just as much as he did. 

"Tommy, hi." I replied as I drank some whiskey. We began to walk deeper into the newly done up Garrison. 

"So what do you think, eh?" Tommy asked me and I just couldn't find any words. I was speechless, we never thought that would ever happen. But nevertheless, it did. 

"It's very..." I began to say before Tommy interjected. 

"Gold?" He asked and I nodded my head giggling. We walked past John's table and he stood up. 

"Hello, Clara." He grinned and I was happy to see him. 

"Hello, trouble, how're you doing?" I asked him laughing as we hugged each other. He just nodded his head before we got out of the hug.  

"Hey, Arthur, look who it is." John exclaimed happily before Tommy and I walked off. He wanted me to do something for him, a side job if you will. But not that kind of side job, I just had to speak to Polly. 

"So what d'you want me to say to her?" I asked Tommy before I drank some more whiskey. 

"Just talk to her. No-one can get through to her. Tell her I had no choice. I appreciate this." Tommy explained before he walked off. I walked past the bar to see Arthur standing there. 

"Hello, Arthur." I smiled and he looked so happy to see me. 

"Clara, come here, you!" Arthur exclaimed before we hugged each other happily. Arthur had been going through some things and I wanted him to know that I was here for him. 

"Polly?" I asked Polly as I walked up to her at the bar, she turned around to face me before we both sat at the bar. "Why don't you come and join us?" I asked her but she was not buying of it. "What?" I asked her innocently before she drank some of her drink. 

"I'm not an idiot. He asked you to come, didn't he?" Polly asked me and I had to stay silent. I could not exactly lie. "I don't want conversation, I want an address. Until I have that. I've not got anything to say." Polly exclaimed before she stood up off of the stool.  "Now, it's a party!" Polly exclaimed before she walked off. I sighed a little as I placed my drink down. I was going to go and tell Tommy the bad news. 

I slid off of the chair at the bar. Earlier on I had seen Tommy walked into the back room so I away to walk there myself. Better to get it out of the way first so I can enjoy the rest of my evening. 

"I am sorry, Tommy." I whispered as I stood at the golden arch that entered a new bigger room. Tommy was sitting there holding a letter, I think that the letter was from Grace. She was really missing Tommy but she never ever told me because he was the father of my child. 

"That's okay." Tommy replied, he knew that Polly would warm up to him again soon. He was just going to have to wait. 

"Have you spoke to Grace lately?" I asked him curiously as I walked further into the room. 

"Why do you ask?" Tommy asked me as he held a letter clearly written by Grace. I just shrugged my shoulders as I leaned on the back wall. 

"Because she has not written to me since I left and I know that she still has lingering feelings towards you." I answered him and Tommy raised his eyebrow. That was a really ego booster for him. 

"Do you have for me?" Tommy asked me as I stood at the wall. He dropped the letter and walked closer towards me. My heart was pounding out with my chest. 

"They died after I realised pining after you was a waste of time." I answered honestly as he edged his way closer and closer and closer. "Do you have for me?" I asked him trying to keep a brave front but I was getting nervous, really nervous. 

"I told you, our love can never come back." Tommy whispered as he was just inches away from my face. 

"Exactly, our daughter is the most important thing to us." I added as I looked down at his lips and then his eyes. 

"Exactly." Tommy answered as he pushed stray hairs behind my ears. I knew he was away to kiss me. 

"We will regret this Tommy." I breathed heavily as my chest moved up and down. I really wanted to kiss him, I really did. 

"Maybe so." Tommy smirked and I bit my lip nervously. I was going to regret this, I was going to seriously regret this. 

"This will not change how we feel." I muttered before he crashed his lips on mine. It felt great to kiss him again, to have him next to me, with me. I just wanted Tommy and I feel that he wanted me too. I pulled away and we both breathed heavily as we looked into each others eyes. "I need you to know that if we do this, my opinion will not change." I whispered as I placed my hands on his chest.

"I know." Tommy admitted before we started to kiss. I did not pull away or back down, I did the opposite. I just wanted to have one more night with Tommy before we got back to being parents. Nothing more and nothing less. 

+++

do you think clara actually means that? 

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love you all and thank you so much for your support, we have over 1000 reads and I feel so blessed and humbled,

mrs n o'brien xx